Kevin Gorman stories, Page 123
Pirates include top position prospects Ke’Bryan Hayes, Cole Tucker on training camp rosterVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates set their 60-man roster for the shortened season Sunday afternoon, despite a surprise suspension, and notable names were missing from the major league roster and taxi squad. The 39 players who will report to training camp starting Wednesday at PNC Park included top position prospects in third...
How Logan Hofmann defied odds and bet on himself to become Pirates’ 5th-round pick
Logan Hofmann never wanted to be known as the short pitcher from the small town, but as a 5-foot-9 right-hander who was raised in Muenster, Saskatchewan (population: 430), he proudly owns it. Well, mostly. “I’m listed at 5-10,” Hofmann said, “because it looks a little better on the roster.” His...
Pirates continuing restructuring, laying off 15 members of baseball operations department
The Pittsburgh Pirates had another round of layoffs on Friday, this time letting go 15 members of the baseball operations staff in a restructuring of the department, a source confirmed to the Tribune-Review. The employees were informed they would not be involved in the organizational plans following this season, so...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Predicting the Pirates’ 30-man roster and taxi squad
If you listened to Derek Shelton’s weekly appearance on 93.7 FM, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager dropped a bit of a bombshell when he discussed potential designated hitters. Oh, Shelton has warned us before that he has no plans to designate one player as DH, as much as that might be...
MLB rule changes give new Pirates manager Derek Shelton flexibility with pitching staff, DH
Now that MLB has decided to play a 60-game season featuring regional matchups, new Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton is switching his strategy from a marathon to a sprint and preparing for rule changes. Shelton believes that benefits him, given the Pirates will be playing opponents from the NL Central...
Pirates let go more than 2 dozen employees in restructuring of business operations
In a move made to restructure the business operations of the organization under new leadership, the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday laid off more than two dozen employees, including select department heads, a source told the Tribune-Review. The decision to make staff changes came just two days after MLB and its...
Pirates to use Altoona Curve stadium as alternate training facility
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Thursday that Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of their Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve, will be used an alternate training facility this season. “The Pirates organization is appreciative of the longstanding relationship we have had for over two decades with the Altoona Curve,” Pirates general manager...
Taking the mound takes Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon’s mind off MLB negotiationsVideo
For someone sidelined this season, Jameson Taillon had a baseball-filled Tuesday — a day that will go down for its monumental moments. Taillon threw off the mound for the first time in his recovery from a second Tommy John surgery, firing 15 fastballs after making mechanical changes to shorten his...
Signing with Pirates, seeing PNC Park for 1st time ‘jaw-dropping’ for top pick Nick Gonzales
Nick Gonzales knew that the number he wore at New Mexico State wasn’t a consideration for the Pittsburgh Pirates, going so far as to remove images of himself wearing a Pirates jersey with No. 21 out of respect for the late Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente. “I kind...
Pirates ‘excited to return to play baseball,’ expect every player to report to training campVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates expect every player projected to be on their 30-man roster for MLB’s 60-game season to report by July 1 to training camp — which new manager Derek Shelton has nicknamed “The Deuce” — and plan to use “every square inch” of PNC Park. That was the biggest...
Oddsmakers set over/under for Pirates’ wins at 25½ in shortened season
Based on MLB’s 60-game regular season, the oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag set the over-under at 25½ wins for the Pittsburgh Pirates, projecting a last-place finish in the NL Central. With the shortened season, the oddsmakers expect many teams to have the same records. The teams projected to have the best records...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Looking at the Pirates’ potential lineup over a 60-game season
Baseball is back, so the Pittsburgh Pirates are returning to PNC Park. That’s the good news for the sport’s fans. The bad news is MLB and its Players’ Association wasted weeks of preparation by having a labor dispute amid a pandemic. In the time the two sides spent negotiating over...
Pirates agree to terms with 1st-round pick Nick Gonzales, who expects to sign Wednesday
The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms with first-round pick Nick Gonzales and will sign the New Mexico State shortstop Wednesday, pending his passing a physical exam. Gonzales was en route to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, his father, Mike Gonzales, confirmed to the Tribune-Review. The Pirates selected Gonzales with the No. 7...
MLB players reject proposal; Rob Manfred implements 60-game seasonVideo
After the MLB Players Association executive board rejected an MLB proposal Monday afternoon by a 33-5 vote, commissioner Rob Manfred was forced to implement a 60-game season. The vote ended weeks of negotiations between baseball’s owners and the union. The standoff stalled the start of the season after the sport...
Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin feels ‘pretty confident’ staff is ready for season to start
Oscar Marin knows being a new pitching coach amid a pandemic is less than ideal, but feels “pretty confident” about the progress the Pittsburgh Pirates staff has made preparing for baseball’s return. “Everything is new to us, new to myself,” Marin said Saturday on 93.7 FM. “I’m working through a...
Pirates pitcher Derek Holland: I feel like fans are on our side in MLB negotiationsVideo
As an 11-year major league veteran, Derek Holland is one of the established players for the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a nonroster invitee to spring training, the left-handed pitcher still is trying to make the team. That didn’t stop Holland from speaking candidly Friday night in an interview with Dan Zangrilli...
Pirates: No positive cases of covid-19 with players or staff at Pirate City in Bradenton
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Friday that they have not had any positive cases of covid-19 involving any employees, including players, at their spring training and minor league facility in Florida. The Pirates released the statement in response to the Philadelphia Phillies confirming eight positive cases of the coronavirus, including five...
MLBPA chief Tony Clark: ‘Unequivocally false’ that MLB, players had reached agreement
A day after their face-to-face meeting, negotiations Thursday for the return of baseball between MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark grew more contentious, as Clark said it was “unequivocally false” that any prior agreement had been reached. Clark announced a counterproposal to the owners’...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 74: Frank Varrichione’s textbook blocking earned respect
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 74: Frank Varrichione When drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Notre Dame, he was known as Faintin’ Frank Varrichione for his infamous faking...
Baseball on brink of playing shortened season after impromptu meeting, new MLB offerVideo
Baseball is on the brink of playing a shortened season, following a face-to-face meeting between MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark. According to multiple reports, the players are contemplating a proposed 60-game schedule with games starting July 19 and ending Sept. 27, full prorated...
Pirates manager Derek Shelton says owner Bob Nutting ‘wants to play’ a baseball season
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton believes that team chairman Bob Nutting “wants to play” baseball this summer, despite reports that some MLB owners are stalling negotiations to avoid a season. Shelton said during his weekly appearance on The Cook and Joe Show on 93.7 The Fan that he spoke with...
Pirates GM Ben Cherington encourages frustrated baseball fans to ‘hold us accountable’
Ben Cherington said he remains optimistic MLB and the Players Association will find a way to play this summer, but the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager doesn’t blame baseball fans for feeling frustrated over how their negotiations have dragged on. Cherington encouraged fans to “express that frustration and continue to hold...
Pirates convince 2nd-round pick Jared Jones to skip scholarship to Texas and sign to go pro
Nine years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates took a University of Texas recruit in the second round of the MLB Draft and gave him a record $5 million signing bonus to convince him to play pro baseball. That risk paid off when Josh Bell became an All-Star first baseman. The Pirates...
Baseball season in jeopardy as fight between owners, players gets uglierVideo
The MLB Players Association said it is “disgusted” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred backtracked from his assertion that there “unequivocally” would be a baseball season this summer, accusing the league of “negotiating in bad faith since the beginning.” When asked by ESPN if there was going to be a season in...
MLB economic standoff with union is giving baseball a black eye, shortchanging the fans
An economic battle that has given baseball a black eye saw negotiations between the owners and players reach an impasse Saturday night, leaving in limbo what the season will look like this summer. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred declared Wednesday night there will be baseball amid a global pandemic, but what...
